The Last Something That Meant Anything
by DOJ
Summary: A collection of drabbles surrounding Lily and James. (Title borrowed from a Mayday Parade song.)
1. Stay

**Author's Note:** I have a collection of drabbles and half-finished one-shots that have been lying dormant in my documents for what seems like forever. A few have been floating around tumblr, but I thought they all deserved a chance to see the light of day. I hope you all enjoy them!

**.:.**

_And we won't wake up on Sunday,  
So I'm building us a church  
Where we can sleep in  
With the gods at work_

_And our friends will write us letters,  
They'll never understand why we don't call.  
We're hiding out until the empire falls  
Let it fall.  
_-Jack's Mannequin

**.:.**

"Can we just stay like this forever?" Lily's head is pillowed against his chest, red hair splayed vibrantly against pale skin. Strands bunch under her temple and tickle his chin, and the heat of her breath mingles with the crispness of the winter air.

James traces lazy circles against her shoulder, his callused thumb sending shivers down her arm and causing heat to pool deep in her abdomen. "We could try, but I reckon my mates'll be up soon."

"We can cast shield charms. _Muffliato_. The works." She turns to look at him; flashes him a grin. "I'm sure they won't miss you."

James chuckles, and she can feel him shaking his head in amusement. "Bloody wankers, the lot of 'em." He drops a kiss to her forehead. "Even if my poor excuses for mates didn't notice our absence, I can think of several professors who may miss their star pupils."

"Bugger school." Lily nestles in closer, rubbing her cheek against a smooth patch of skin. She mumbles into his chest, "It's overrated."

This time, when James laughs, it's a deep throaty sound that rumbles throughout his chest and causes her stomach to drop pleasantly. "Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?"

"Oh, sod off."

"No, seriously. You must've seen her. Short little thing, gorgeous red hair, feisty temper, does extra Potions assignments for _fun_?"

Lily pulls back, her nose and forehead wrinkled in frustrated indignation. "I rescind my offer. You can do whatever the bloody hell you want. _I_ will retreat to my own dormitory and find someone more willing to share my bed with me." She begins to untangle her limbs from his, her hair snagging on his specs for a moment. "In fact," she tugs at her hair and the wire frames slide crookedly down his nose. "When your rubbish mates show up, send Sirius my way, yeah? I'm sure he'd be more than willing to—"

She collides back into James' chest with a startled "Oof"—he's wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulled her close. "Don't," he murmurs fiercely, "finish that sentence."

Lily softens slightly at that, allows herself to melt deeper into his embrace.

"You wanna stay here forever? We'll stay here forever. We'll live off of Remus' secret Honeydukes stash, and _scourgify_ ourselves clean every day, and shag like mad—"

Lily laughs and lifts her head, threads her fingers through the messy mop of his hair, and tugs his mouth down to hers. She murmurs against his lips, "You're such a prat."

"Mmm." James smiles and kisses her forehead, her cheek, her nose. "But you love me for it."


	2. Barefeet

_Amy, I  
Can hear your bare feet on my bedroom floor.  
But Amy, I never felt this kind of cold,  
Never felt this kind of hold on me.  
_-Jack's Mannequin

**.:.**

He can hear her bare feet, soft on the hardwood of his bedroom floor. The sticky slap of skin against polished wood, the creak of the plank beside his nightstand. There's the rustle of sheets, the subtle shifting of his mattress, sinking first to the left then leveling out as she settles beside him. He keeps his eyes closed, but smiles as she curls into him, her breath hot on his shoulder blades, her hair brushing the nape of his neck. She presses her feet—icy cold—against his calves, and giggles into his shirt as his breath rushes through clenched teeth in an irritated hiss.

"I thought we'd agreed you'd be staying in the guestroom—something about appropriate, parentally-approved boundaries?"

She nestles closer and mumbles into his back, "I got lonely."

James rolls onto his back and deftly slips an arm around her small frame, pulling her closer. She pillows her head against his shoulder and twists his cotton tee with nervous fingers as she glances up at him plaintively.

"Do you have any idea how _big_ that room is? I could've gotten lost in there. I felt like Catherine Morland, inventing ghosts and skeletons in every shadow." She pauses, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Though I suppose, unlike Northanger, your house _is_ likely to have ghosts and skeletons."

James chuckles and drops a kiss to her pale, freckled forehead. "Trust you to go all Muggle on me at four a.m. Afraid of a few skeletons."

"I'm not afraid! I've just never had a room that big all to myself before. It's unnerving."

He resists the urge to point out that afraid is exactly what she sounds like and instead begins to trace stars and circles on her arm. "You know, you _could_ stay here—"

"James," she cuts him off. "We've talked about this. Your parents—"

"My parents wouldn't be the least bit bothered, Lil. They love you. And already trust you a bloody deal more than they do me. 'Sides," he adds mid-yawn, "Mum clearly knows everything that goes on in this house anyway. Never could get away with anything without an earful the next morning."

"That's probably because you're never exactly subtle."

"My point is," though James raises his voice, it is ineffective in covering her giggling. "Mum and Dad went to Hogwarts. They know what goes on there. They're not going to mind if we share a room."

"My parents were young once, too. But I guarantee my Dad would absolutely murder you if he thought we were shagging under his roof."

"Who said anything about shagging?" James waggles his eyebrows and smirks at the blush staining Lily's cheeks in the pale morning light. "If it's shagging you want…"

"I said 'thought,' you randy berk." Lily braces her palm against his chest, futilely attempting to shove him backwards. "That's generally the conclusion parents jump to when their progeny are sharing beds."

"And yet both our parents should know that you are much too respectable to do anything as base as shagging when they're around." James tightens his hold on her slim frame, one palm splaying across the bare skin of her waist as he pulls her into him and once more pillows her head with his chest. He yawns again. "Now will you stop bloody _thinking_ so much? It's half past four, and if you don't mind I'd like to snag a few more hours of sleep before Mum spontaneously decides today would be a lovely day for a family brunch."

Lily laughs softly, snuggling closer to James as he nuzzles the top of her head affectionately. "She would do that, wouldn't she?"

"She'll be twice as likely to once you realizes you're in here. It'll be her way of making sure nothing untoward happens."

"Hmm." Lily hums as James' breathing begins to even and slow. "James?"

"Mmhmm?"

"I really like your family."

He squeezes her gently and murmurs sleepily, "And they love you, Lils."

"And your house. I like it, too."

"Good."

"Even if it is massive."

"Mmm."

"And full of skeletons."

"Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Go to sleep."

He can feel her laugh, the heat of her breath seeping through the cotton of his nightshirt. She slides one hand across his chest and curls the other beneath her head, and just as James feels the fog of sleep sweeping over him he think she hears her whisper, "Thanks for chasing the monsters away."

And he falls asleep with his lips pressed against her forehead, one arm possessively tight around her waist, the other tangled in her hair.


End file.
